Ohio Democrats have elected Cincinnati lawyer David Pepper as their next chairman as the party looks to rebuild after a year of political missteps and devastating losses.

Pepper was selected by the state executive committee Tuesday to replace Chris Redfern. Redfern has resigned effective Dec. 31 after a bruising campaign season that included losing his own House seat and every statewide election.

Pepper was Democrats’ 2014 attorney general candidate. He plans to have state Sen. Nina Turner, the party’s 2014 secretary of state candidate, on his leadership team.

Pepper and Turner say they will win elections by instituting “a culture of high ethics, accountability, transparency, trust and fairness” and promoting diversity and inclusion.

Pepper, a former Hamilton County commissioner, is son of a former CEO of Procter & Gamble.

Ohio’s political party chairmen have jumped at the chance to highlight vulnerabilities of the gubernatorial contender running on the opposite ticket.

Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern says the fall election is about the incumbent, Republican Gov. John Kasich. Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald has been campaigning for months as a Democratic candidate.

Redfern says he sees Kasich’s record on the economy and women’s health issues as his weaknesses. Republican chairman Matt Borges points to FitzGerald’s record of public service and trouble in picking a running mate as vulnerabilities.

Redfern and Borges spoke at a legislative preview session, organized by The Associated Press.

The candidates are slated to provide details on their fundraising and spending in campaign finance reports due Friday. Redfern says he expects FitzGerald to be outraised.

A powerful legislative panel has rebuffed a Democratic state representative's effort to put a temporary halt to some state development spending amid a dispute involving Gov. John Kasich's private job-creation entity, JobsOhio.

A powerful legislative panel has rebuffed a Democratic state representative’s effort to put a temporary halt to some state development spending amid a dispute involving Gov. John Kasich’s private job-creation entity, JobsOhio.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman and state Rep. Chris Redfern questioned the spending requests for the Ohio Department of Development or Ohio Development Services Agency ahead of Controlling Board approval of the items on Monday.

Development’s legislative liaison, John Mahaney, couldn’t readily explain how about $5 million in state development money got transferred to JobsOhio without legislative approval, nor could an agency spokesman.

Auditor Dave Yost, Kasich’s fellow Republican, has subpoenaed JobsOhio’s financial records as he undertakes a state audit. The Kasich administration and GOP state legislative leaders say the audit of private funds is outside Yost’s authority.

Many Democrats have been raising questions about public money sent to Ohioâ€™s semi-private job creation program, JobsOhio. Now Ohioâ€™s Republican Auditor is raising questions, too. Heâ€™s issued a subpoena demanding JobsOhio open its books for an audit.

But many Republicans says Yost lacks the authority for such an audit.

Ohioâ€™s Republican Auditor, Dave Yost, has issued a subpoena to JobsOhio, asking the private development agency to hand over financial records through the end of last June. That follows a private audit that shows JobsOhio received more than $5 million in state grants that many lawmakers say they didnâ€™t know about.

And they say that money had not been disclosed in previous financial statements.

When asked by reporters about the subpoena, Republican Governor John Kasich minimizes the notion that he has a big disagreement with Yost.

The thing is they want to audit more than the public money and it gets to be problematic. If we give an incentive to a company here and they want to go in and audit their books, it gets to be really unworkable and disruptive.

“But if a company takes public money, that money ought to be audited by the Auditor of the State. Itâ€™s no more complicated than that,” Kasich says. “Look, I mean sometimes you read things and it appears one way. Itâ€™s just a little disagreement about how we should proceed.

When Kasich was asked if he knew about the $5 million grant amount, the Governor responds this way:

“You need to understand how this all works. Itâ€™s a complicated entity and I would suggest that you go talk to the development service agency and get over to JobsOhio and talk to them so you will understand how this all comes together.”

Kasich says Yost does not have the right to audit anything beyond public dollars and if an amendment spelling out a clarification in law about how JobsOhio can be audited is needed, he says lawmakers will get it.

But the Republican Speaker of the Ohio House, Bill Batchelder, says he was key in writing the rules to begin with and says it is already clear that Yost is overstepping his authority.

He doesnâ€™t have that authority to go into a private corporation to audit it. Iâ€™m waiting for him to try to get in to Chrysler Motors or Fiat or whatever they call it now. You know we bought a lot of cars from them this year. Whatâ€™s going on over there?

Batchelder says that last part in jest because he says private businesses do not allow public oversight of their books. He says thereâ€™s no reason to think thereâ€™s anything improper happening at JobsOhio.

“There might be a perception problem created by the auditor, but I think most people understood that board, youâ€™ve looked at the list of board members. These are people above reproach. I mean this is not some group of cowboy,” Batchelder says.

But Ohioâ€™s Democratic Party Chairman, Chris Redfern, says he canâ€™t understand the Governorâ€™s response to these questions.

The fact of the matter is it all seems so defensive, so reactive, if the first response from the Governorâ€™s office is itâ€™s complicated and oh yeah, we are going to get an amendment added to a bill that would essentially strip away the state auditorâ€™s ability to audit the books. In the old days, youâ€™d be a little less transparent if you are a crook on how you would steal the money.

Redfern says thereâ€™s no legal way nearly $5 million of state money could have been transferred to JobsOhio without the authority of the Ohio legislature.

And Redfern says that authority has never been given for those dollars.

“And no one is down at the Statehouse right now threatening to storm the door saying what on Earth is going onâ€¦.there are 4.3 million dollars missing.”

Recently, the state offered 100 million dollars in state bonds to provide more money for JobsOhio.

Democratic State Representative Jay Carney says until these questions are answered, that transaction should be put on hold.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2013/03/08/kasich-jobsohio-audit-request-a-misunderstanding/feed/0audit,auditor,Bill Batchelder,chris redfern,dave yost,jobsohio,John Kasich,legislature,ohio,statehouseGov. John Kasich says Ohio Auditor Dave Yost should be able to audit the public dollars spent on the state's job creation program, but has no right to audit private contributions.Gov. John Kasich says Ohio Auditor Dave Yost should be able to audit the public dollars spent on the state's job creation program, but has no right to audit private contributions.WOSU Newsno4:09Democrats, Republicans At Odds Over Lame Duck Sessionhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/11/09/democrats-republicans-at-odds-over-lame-duck-session/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/11/09/democrats-republicans-at-odds-over-lame-duck-session/#commentsFri, 09 Nov 2012 12:32:31 +0000Jo Ingleshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=38579

The lame duck session of the Ohio legislature is coming up in the next few weeks. And thereâ€™s some talk about whether lawmakers will take up the issue of election reform â€“ specifically voter id and the elimination of early in person weekend voting opportunities.

And there’s emerging controversy as to whether legislators should take up those issues in the final weeks of this year.

Ohioans went to the polls last weekend because the state lost a federal lawsuit brought by Democrats challenging a new Ohio law that eliminated those days. Some lawmakers want to take a second look at that issue that was struck down by the court.

And some lawmakers say they also want to take another look at current voter identification requirements.

Republican Keith Faber says election reform is important, so lawmakers “are going to take a look at it,” Faber says.

“Weâ€™ve got to see what worked and didnâ€™t work.”

Faber isnâ€™t ruling out accomplishing some election reform during the lame duck sessionâ€¦.in the last few weeks of this year. Thatâ€™s the period when outgoing lawmakers can take a controversial vote that they wonâ€™t have to answer for in the future.

aber says the lame duck session might be a good time to tackle some of the election reform issues.

“Because one, you clarify things when youâ€™ve got people fresh in their minds as to what the issues and the problems were.

The other benefit would be to simple identify what you need to work on and what you donâ€™t. Because I donâ€™t think you do it all in one bill anyway. I think there are a lot of issues there. There are things we all agreed on that we didnâ€™t do because we didnâ€™t want to mess with it before the election but some of the access for the handicapped and some of those issues.

“And so the question is can you do things that improve the process? Yes. Because there are going to be some parts of that that are imminently controversial because when you talk about election issues, they always are. There may or may not be an incentive to do that or a desire to do that now,” Faber adds.

The head of Ohioâ€™s Democratic Party, Chris Redfern, says one thing is for sure: If lawmakers try to eliminate weekend in person early voting during the lame duck session, they will have a fight on their hands.

If the lame duck session of the state senate passes legislation that limits early vote, the Ohio Democratic Party will immediately commence with a referendum.

“We have set aside resources to take on this effort and we will take on that effort. And we will rebuff and push back any effort to strip back early vote.”

Redfern, himself, will be a member of the Ohio legislature next year when the batch of newly elected lawmakers takes office. He says he thinks itâ€™s appropriate for the legislature to take up election reform, including early in person weekend voting opportunities, next year.

“No one likes to see long lines, and I donâ€™t believe Jon Husted likes to see long lines because it affects his legacy as secretary of state. I believe that there is an opportunity here to craft meaningful legislation that would continue the early vote opportunities for voters and to expand into additional weekends.

“I think Jon speaks to uniformity first and foremost, and I disagree with that but I will cede the argument because I think allowing every voter the chance to vote on weekends is appropriate. 144 Ottawa county residents, in my home district, voted that last weekend while tens of thousands vote in Cuyahoga county and other places during weekends. So I think if we give those folks an opportunity to vote on weekends, more people will vote and we all want that.”

For his part, Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted says he thinks the Ohio legislature needs to take up election reform but he doesnâ€™t think it should be tackled during the lame duck session.

“Iâ€™m not going to tell my friends who run the legislature or the minority leader how to do their jobs. But letâ€™s take a deep breath. Letâ€™s set this aside for the lame duck session. Letâ€™s get the leaders to sit down right now and say ok, we are going to watch what we say about each other, we are going to tone it down, and we are going to be reasonable about how we go about this.

“And we are going to just set these days in code. Take it out of the hands of the local boards and the Secretary of State. Tell us what days you want to do it and what hours you want to do it. It will be in the law and we will get it right. Letâ€™s stop trying to write tricks into the code about provisional ballots. Letâ€™s clean it up. Letâ€™s start it over. Letâ€™s get it right.”

Husted says this election went smoothly, despite the lawsuits and questions about the process.

He says Ohio is under the microscope more than surrounding states simply because the buckeye state is a key swing state. And even without election reform, Husted notes voters here have many more opportunities to vote than voters in Kentucky or Pennsylvania.

Ohioans are still recovering from the brutal, expensive political marathon that the 2012 campaign was.

But some partisans were thinking ahead to the next campaign at the party on election night.

Not long after the state of Ohio was projected for President Obama, and a few hours after Sen. Sherrod Brown was declared re-elected, staffers with the Ohio Democratic Party started distributing pre-printed signs throughout the jubiliant crowd. The signs read: â€œKasich â€“ Youâ€™re Nextâ€ on one side, and â€œ2014 Canâ€™t Come Soon Enoughâ€ on the other.

â€œJohn Kasich will not run unopposed for the next two years. He just flat out wonâ€™t. We will challenge him every step of the way.â€

Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern says the party doesnâ€™t have a candidate he can name, but he says because Republicans will likely raise as much as $50 million dollars for the 2014 governorâ€™s race, the Democrats are starting their campaign â€“ quoting him â€“ as soon as possible.

But Ohio State political science professor Paul Beck says after the political climate Ohioans have subjected to over the last year, itâ€™s too soon.

â€œIt is quite frankly premature. We need to let the present play out a little more. I can understand the desire to kind of capture this momentum and can it and use it for the next contest, but I think most voters are tired of the focus of the past year on a very intense campaign,” says Beck.

Polls have shown Kasichâ€™s approval ratings have been steadily rising, from 30 percent a week after taking office in January 2011 to 49 percent at the end of last month.

When asked whether the signs and the talk of the 2014 governorâ€™s campaign so soon after such a close presidential win might be seen by some as hubris, Redfern says â€œThis governor doesn’t know how to spell hubris, much less define it.â€

There were rumblings that John Kasich would run for governor three years before the 2010 race.

So far, former Gov. Ted Strickland, who was very visible as he campaigned for Obama, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for his old office, along with federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director and former Attorney General Richard Cordray and Youngstown area Congressman Tim Ryan.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/11/08/democrats-already-eyeing-2014-campaign-against-kasich/feed/0chris redfern,election,governor,John Kasich,ohioOhioans are still recovering from the brutal, expensive political marathon that the 2012 campaign was, but some partisans were thinking ahead to the next campaign at the party on election night.Ohioans are still recovering from the brutal, expensive political marathon that the 2012 campaign was, but some partisans were thinking ahead to the next campaign at the party on election night.WOSU Newsno2:21Group Vows To Force State To Purge Voter Rollshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/08/28/group-vows-to-force-state-to-purge-voter-rolls/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/08/28/group-vows-to-force-state-to-purge-voter-rolls/#commentsTue, 28 Aug 2012 11:47:47 +0000Jo Ingleshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=34403

Members of the group Judicial Watch say federal law requires Ohio and other states clean up voter rolls, including removing deceased people and illegal immigrants.

A national group thatâ€™s pushed to purge voter rolls in other states wants to do the same in Ohio.

And the group says it plans to file a court suit to make sure that happens before the November election.

The President of Judicial Watch says Ohio has a big problem that could affect the integrity of the vote in November. The grou’s Tom Fitton says the stateâ€™s voter rolls need to be purged before then.

“Federal law requires that state take reasonable efforts to maintain accurate voter rolls, and our analysis of Ohio shows that evidently is not being done,” Fitton says.

“Several counties have over 100 percent of their eligible population on the rolls. Many others have near 100 percent, which shows us the basic steps to clean up the rolls are not being done. Weâ€™ve warned the Secretary of State about this and made him aware about it and havenâ€™t gotten an adequate response so (groups) True the Vote and Judicial Watch are planning to file a lawsuit to help insure clean election rolls on election day.”

Fittonâ€™s group has been part of the True the Vote effort thatâ€™s backed purging of voter rolls in some other states. He says there are likely many illegal immigrants on the voter rolls.

“The easiest thing,” Fitton says, “is to start removing dead people from the voter rolls. When you get over 100 percent, thatâ€™s a sign that even dead people arenâ€™t being removed.”

The chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party wonder why dead people need to be removed from voting rolls.

“And why because dead people will show up at the polls?” says Chris Redfern.

Redfern says there have been less than a dozen prosecuted cases of voter fraud in Ohio during the past 10 years.

Redfern says Fittonâ€™s group is just trying to disenfranchise voters.

“With all due respect for these outside thug groups, when they are unapologetic at their attempts to disenfranchise the voters, when they donâ€™t retreat from statements like the ones that have been attributed to organizations like True the Vote, when they say they want Ohioans to to feel like they are “driving and seeing the police watching them when they are casting their ballot.

“That kind of intimidation was commonplace 45 or 50 years ago in the south. We donâ€™t need the kind of antics that have been long ago been pushed away to live another day in Ohio.,” Redfern says.

Fittonâ€™s group held a summit over the weekend in Columbus to talk about plans to purge the voter rolls. More than 100 people attended.

The lawsuit is expected to be filed in the coming days. A federal judge recently ruled Florida could continue to purge voters from its rolls. The U.S. Justice Department is appealing that case to stop the practice.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/08/28/group-vows-to-force-state-to-purge-voter-rolls/feed/0Campaign 2012,chris redfern,democrats,jon husted,Judicial Watch,ohio,votingMembers of the group Judicial Watch say federal law requires Ohio and other states clean up voter rolls, including removing deceased people and illegal immigrants.Members of the group Judicial Watch say federal law requires Ohio and other states clean up voter rolls, including removing deceased people and illegal immigrants.WOSU Newsno2:34Obama Campaign Sues Ohio Over Early Voting Limitshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/07/17/obama-campaign-sues-ohio-over-early-voting-limits/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/07/17/obama-campaign-sues-ohio-over-early-voting-limits/#commentsTue, 17 Jul 2012 20:52:38 +0000Jo Ingleshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=32077

President Obamaâ€™s campaign is suing Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to try to re-instate the three days of early, in person voting before Election day in November.

Back in 2004, Ohioâ€™s voting process was under national scrutiny after there were long lines at polling places, causing voters to wait for up to eight hours to cast their ballots at some precincts. After that, Ohio lawmakers passed a law that, among other things, allowed Ohioans to vote in person on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before the election. Those rules were in effect in 2008.

But Ohio lawmakers, during the past couple of years, have passed new laws eliminating that three day window. There was an attempt to allow Ohio voters to vote in a referendum to repeal that law. But Ohio lawmakers took matters in their own hands and repealed the controversial bill but didnâ€™t repeal other new laws related to voting. Backers of a new lawsuit say the way Ohio laws are written now treats voters unfairly and unequally. Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern says a new lawsuit, filed in federal court, seeks to remedy that.

“All Ohioans, all voters deserve so much more and better. Our country deserves so much more and better and thatâ€™s what this case is all aboutâ€¦.insuring all voters, every voter, has the same access to the polls,” said Redfern.

The new federal lawsuit, filed by President Obamaâ€™s campaign, the Ohio Democratic party and the Democratic National Committee contends the laws that are currently on the books in Ohio treat military voters and their families differently than ordinary Ohioans. Don McTigue, an attorney working on behalf of the Democratic groups, explains treating the two groups differently violates federal election laws.

“The general assembly has established a deadline for one group of voters that allows them to vote three extra voters in person at the board of elections. All other voters, the general assembly has cut off on the Friday before. Whether or not this was done deliberately or whether it was a happenstance result of a tortured legislative history from all of these bills, it does not make a difference from a legal or constitutional standpoint. You have two groups of voters that do not have the same rights to vote and should,” said McTigue.

The new lawsuit seeks to bring back that three day, in person early voting period at the board of elections for every Ohio voter. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted says itâ€™s important to remember that Ohio voters havenâ€™t had those three days recently anyway, “This is the third election that weâ€™ve had under these rules so thereâ€™s nothing new happening here in Ohio.”

As far as the inequity between ordinary Ohioans and military families, Husted says federal law is responsible for that.

One of the Republican lawmakers who pushed to wipe out the three day window before election day, Lou Blessing, says no voter is being disenfranchised under the current law.

“As far as preventing people from votingâ€¦.my comment is youâ€™ve got to be votingâ€¦youâ€™ve got 30 days before the election. Iâ€™m not quite sure how that prevents anybody from voting,” maintained Blessing.

In 2008, 93,000 votes were cast in the three days before Election Day.

The fall election is still about five months away, but the chairs of the stateâ€™s two major political parties are talking like itâ€™s just around the corner.

A Wednesday panel discussion was the first time Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern and Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett were together since Redfern survived a coup among his membership and Bennett was brought back from retirement after GOP chair Kevin DeWine was forced out.

And it didnâ€™t take long for Redfern to start jabbing, as he talked about what heâ€™s been doing.

“…bringing about a two-party system here in Ohio that frankly was lacking during most of the time that Bob was chairman of the Republican Party. Iâ€™ve spent some time getting to know Mr. Bennett, Chairman Bennett.

Bennett then interrupted by saying “history tends to repeat itself in politics.”

The chairmen spent most of their time before the Columbus Metropolitan Club talking national politics. Bennett was asked if heâ€™s pleased with Mitt Romney as the GOP presidential nominee.

“Absolutely,” Bennett said. “I think heâ€™s…he will appeal to not only the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives and the Tea Party people within the party, but heâ€™ll be able to reach out and attract a number of independents.”

And Redfern said heâ€™s also happy with Barack Obama as a president and a candidate.

“The presidentâ€™s leadership and the leadership of those who joined him in the Congress have meant that more Ohioans are working today than there were in January 2009 when his hand came off the Bible.

“There are more Ohioans today covered by health care when there were when the presidentâ€™s hand came off the Bible. And I think we should all celebrate that.”

Bennett countered by saying there are more people unemployed in Ohio than when Obama took office.

The unemployment rate released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services was 8.8 percent in January 2009 compared to 7.5 percent now. But thatâ€™s just one area where the chairmen have different views and use competing facts.

For example â€“ the bailout of the automakers.

Redfern said without it, thousands would be without jobs, while Bennett said the free market needs to control the economy, not the government. Redfern said Obama is responsible for the economy and the steady decrease in unemployment, but Bennett said Obama should also take credit for huge financial problems in California and Illinois.

Bennett said he doesnâ€™t think social issues will drive the election â€“ he thinks the economy will.

“Itâ€™s not going to be anything else. Itâ€™s not going to be the social issues â€“ theyâ€™re important.

“Theyâ€™re important as part of your coalition. But I think when it comes right down to it, people are going to ask themselves, â€˜am I better off today than I was four years ago?â€™ And you look at the promises that were made by the president, and almost every one of them have been broken.”

But Redfern said he doesnâ€™t mind discussing social issues , including marriage equality and access to birth control.

“We guarantee through health care policies the right for men to seek and acquire Viagra, but we donâ€™t allow women access to contraception. And we are having this debate in 2012, and Bob is asked rhetorically, I hope, Mike, whether heâ€™s pleased with his nominee. I am.”

The chairmen were also asked to say something nice about a major figure in the other party. Bennett credited President Obama with the killing of Osama bin Laden. Redfern praised Gov. John Kasich for proposing what Redfern called a massive tax increase on oil and gas drillers.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/05/24/state-party-chairmen-debate-top-issues-going-into-election/feed/0Bob Bennett,chris redfern,columbus metropolitan club,debate,democrats,republicansThe fall election is still about five months away, but Ohio Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern and GOP chair Bob Bennett are talking like itâ€™s just around the corner.The fall election is still about five months away, but Ohio Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern and GOP chair Bob Bennett are talking like itâ€™s just around the corner.WOSU Newsno3:46Redfern To Stay On As ODP Chairmanhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/04/12/ohio-democratic-party-members-prepare-to-vote-on-their-chairman/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/04/12/ohio-democratic-party-members-prepare-to-vote-on-their-chairman/#commentsThu, 12 Apr 2012 11:15:27 +0000Karen Kaslerhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=26273

Chris Redfern beat back a challenge from within his own party last night to win reelection as chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.

Ohio Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern keeps that position for another two years, after beating back a challenge from a Lorain County attorney.

But his toughest work may still lie ahead.

The Ohio Democratic Partyâ€™s organizational meeting stayed informal but relatively orderly, even during the biggest item on the agenda: the election of the chairman to a two-year term. Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory stood up and introduced one of the two candidates â€“ the current chair.

“I firmly believe that he is the right person to lead us to victory as we re-elect U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and President of the United States Barack Obama. Ladies and gentlemen, I place into nomination the name Christopher Redfern.”

Redfernâ€™s supporters tried to drown out with thunderous applause the smattering of boos from the backers of the other candidate, Lorain County Democratic Party chair Anthony Giardini.

In nominating Giardini, Andrea Norris of Barberton shouted her main reason for backing him â€“ her belief that he can bring together union members who are angry at Redfern.

“We canâ€™t afford to have a leader that doesnâ€™t have the support of the unions and voters that have so vocally spoke out against Mr. Redfern,” Norris said.

But if union members were angry, they didnâ€™t show it in the vote. Redfern won re-election handily, 51-10. Giardini says he hopes his supporters can get behind Redfern â€“ though he admits he still has concerns about the Redfernâ€™s strategy.

“I like Chris personally, so I donâ€™t â€“ itâ€™s not like I dislike him. I still disagree with the top-down approach, I still believe we need to build our party from the bottom up and thatâ€™s not going to change,” Giardini said.

Mike Kelly of Columbus is with the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, which backed Giardini. He says the results of the election in 2010 â€“ which were disastrous for Democrats showed Redfern didnâ€™t properly spend more than $1 million dollars his union gave that year.

“And his egotistic and really flamboyant attitude is something we donâ€™t care for. He indifferent to labor.”

Redfern said after the vote that heâ€™s not bothered by such opinions, and that heâ€™s not going to apologize for being â€“ using his word â€“ brash.

“Iâ€™m at peace with who I am, Iâ€™m comfortable, as youâ€™ve come to know, in my own skin. Kasler: And you think the party is too? Redfern: I think the party is the strongest in the country.”

Redfern shook off concerns about how heâ€™ll handle serving as both the party chair and in his old Ohio House seat to which heâ€™s likely to be elected this fall. And he says while he didnâ€™t solicit anyone in elected office or in labor unions for support, his door is open.

“Weâ€™ll work hard to reach out to our friends in labor, whether they be affiliated in the private sector or those in the public sector.

“Weâ€™ll continue to push forward an agenda that reflects the membership and the membershipâ€™s wishes, and Iâ€™m confident that those who have a difference of opinion about the party or the partyâ€™s management will work together to elect and re-elect Democrats.”

Redfern also had harsh words for Republicans as they head into a meeting tomorrow, where Chairman Kevin DeWine says he will resign following the election of a new chairman, the result of a long struggle between DeWine with allies of Gov. John Kasich.

Making a reference to a comment Kasich made not long after his election as governor, Redfern said Kasich “drove the bus over DeWine” at the order of Columbus lobbyist Doug Preisse, the chair of the Franklin County Republican Party. And he claimed the battle within the GOP isnâ€™t about strategy, as it was with his re-election bid â€“ itâ€™s about access to money.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/04/12/ohio-democratic-party-members-prepare-to-vote-on-their-chairman/feed/1Campaign 2012,chris redfern,democratic party,employees,Jennifer Brunner,republican party,secretary of state,senate bill 5Chris Redfern beat back a challenge from within his own party last night to win reelection as chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.Chris Redfern beat back a challenge from within his own party last night to win reelection as chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.WOSU Newsno3:47